10 projects in 10 days-- Day 5

And a few photos to share!

Yesterday was Cameron's birthday and we decided to take a day trip together as a family. We packed a picnic lunch and headed west.

For lunch, we stopped in Killarney. They have a beach there with picnic tables and play structures for the kids. After we finished eating, the kids played for a bit.


Jonah and Sage are so adorable and affectionate. I had to get a picture of these two pretending to be "love birds".


After some play time, we loaded back up the van and drove to the International Peace Garden, located on the border between Canada and the U.S. We drove around the Canadian side and then onto the American side, where we stopped at the North American Game Warden Museum. Thankfully, Jonah is no longer afraid of "stuffed" animals, so the kids enjoyed exploring the museum.


We drove back around to the garden and got out to walk the length of it, starting on the Canadian side. It's not a bad walk (2.4 km there and back) and the weather was great!


A nice man took a family picture of us by one of the fountains:


And I took some nice photos, too:










At the end, there's the Peace Chapel, which you can see a bit behind the border marker Sage and Jonah are standing on.


And the photos I took along the U.S. side as we walked back:


These were from the Twin Towers from 9/11 at the memorial there. I can't believe that that happened almost 10 years ago!




In the conservatory, they have all these different kinds of cacti there. I took a photo for a family there and they offered to return the favour.


Jonah took this one of Sage & me:






Another family photo taken by a kind stranger:


After leaving the Peace Garden, we drove north to Boissevain, where we took a photo of Tommy the Turtle...


Visited their model train museum...


And stopped at a yard sale, where I picked up this treasure for $8.


We drove back home after Boissevain, with a quick stop in Killarney to pick up burgers from The Beach Hut.

Oh, and before I forget, here's my project for today.... it's another card that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Colouring with White Ink.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (black, Hibiscus Burst and Stamper's Select White), In Bloom and Half & Half stamp sets and Half & Half & Mat Stack #1 dies. The little pearls are Hero Arts.

Thanks for looking!

10 projects in 10 days-- Day 4

Today is my husband, Cameron's, birthday and here is the card I made for him:


I used SU! and PTI cardstock, Half & Half stamps and die and my friend, Susan's, As Sweet as Can Be stamps and dies.

Thanks for looking!

10 projects in 10 days-- Day 3

For today's project, I have another card that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Colouring with White Ink.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (kraft, stamper's select white and ripe avocado), In Bloom and Tranquility Trinity stamp sets. I coloured in the flower bloom with PTI Fresh Snow and the leaves with my friend, Susan's, copic markers.

Thanks for looking!

10 projects in 10 days-- Day 2

For today's project, I have a card that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Colouring with White Ink.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (kraft, stamper's select white and new leaf), In Bloom and Half & Half stamp sets and Half and Half dies. I coloured in the flower bloom with PTI Fresh Snow and the leaves with my friend, Susan's, copic markers.

Thanks for looking!

10 projects in 10 days-- Day 1

One of my new online friends, Louise Spiden, posted this idea on her blog: a challenge to herself to post 10 cards in 10 days on her blog. I'm "borrowing" her idea and tweaking it slightly to include scrapbooking layouts.

Here's my first one, that I created for the July inspiration challenge at My Scrap Shoppe, using this photo as inspiration:


And here's my layout:


I used American Crafts and Papertrey Ink cardstock, Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, AC thickers and my Quickutz Classic Alphabet dies.

Here's a closeup of the journaling:

Thanks for looking!

One last Stamp-a-faire challenge

Here's the card that I made for Challenge #10 for Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-faire: add a stamped focal point over a stamped background, all in the same layer.


I used PTI cardstock (stamper's select white, aqua mist), Wildflower Garden, Daydream
er and Text Style I stamp sets, Cosmo Cricket patterned paper and twine from MSS.

Thanks for looking!

July Papertrey Blog Hop

Today, I'm playing along with the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop, where the challenge was to be inspired by this photo:


I was inspired by the fabulous colour combination and the quilt draped over the bench to create this card:


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, aqua mist, simply chartreuse), my new Tranquility Trinity stamp set (which I love!) & Happy Trails stamp set (sentiment). The border punch and inks are SU!

Thanks for looking!

One last attempt...

.... at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.

I dry brushed all of the orange cardstock on my layout-- so the border, the letters that I cut out with my Quickutz Classic Alphabet dies and the flowers I cut out with my PTI Beautiful Blooms dies.


I used Bazzill & PTI cardstock, the dies mentionned above, a Half & Half stamp and die, Cosmo Cricket patterned paper and some SU! build-a-brads.

Here's a close up of the journaling:


Thanks for looking!

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #5

Here is the card I made for Challenge #5: take a circular stamp and create your own custom "faux" border.

(I apologize for the poor photo-- it's late here and I had to take this photo in my basement.)


I used PTI cardstock (vintage cream, hibiscus burst and raspberry fizz), Delightful Doilies, Sweet Love and Think Big Favourites #4 stamp sets.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #2

Here is my layout that I made for Challenge #2: pair up a hot pink, like Raspberry Fizz, with a charcoal grey like Smokey Shadow.


I used Authentique patterned paper, PTI cardstock (vintage cream), Delightful Doilies stamp set and Sassafras letter stickers.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #6

Here's the layout I made for Challenge #6: to use the little notch technique to hold twine or ribbon in place across the cover of your project.


I used Bazzill (kraft) & PTI cardstock (harvest gold, vintage cream), Lily Bee patterned paper & little stickers, Jillibean Soup alpha stickers (larger), a Authentique word strip and Papertrey Ink Half & Half stamp & die, twine & button.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #4

Here is the layout that I created for Challenge #4: which was a colour challenge to use these colours (Ripe Avocado, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores & Enchanted Evening):




I used Bazzill cardstock and PTI cardstock (Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores), my new Half & Half stamps and dies, Wonderful Words stamps and dies, My Mind's Eye and Crate patterned paper and MME brads.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #1

Today, in Cincinnati, Papertrey Ink is hosting a day of stamping/card making called Stamp-a-faire. Since I couldn't attend in person, I decided to invite my friends, Susan and Mandy over to have our own little Stamp-a-faire Morden. ;)

PTI was great about having some challenges for us to play along. I have been making so many cards lately that I'm a little behind in layouts (I know, I know, there's suppose to be no pressure to be "caught up" in scrapbooking), but still, I decided to make some layouts for some of the challenges.

Here's my layout for Challenge #1: Create a project featuring patterned strips that are created with some of your favorite decorative elements.

For this challenge, I decided to scrapbook my photos from the Casting Crowns concert I attended at the end of June. I chose my new PTI Tranquility Trinity stamps to create the patterned strips.


I used Bazzill cardstock for the background and PTI cardstock (smokey shadow, plum pudding, berry sorbet), Tranquility Trinity stamp set, Mat Stack #1 stamp & die, Journaling Lines stamps, Flower Fusion #3 die, American Crafts thickers and Hero Arts bling.

Thanks for looking!

Princess challenge

This week's Papertrey Princess challenge is from Leah, who issued the challenge to create a card or other project that you will actually give to someone within the next week.

I love this challenge, because while I love making cards, I often forget to hand them out.

So I made this card for my friend, Joy and will give it to her in church tomorrow, to let her know how much I value our friendship. I also made this card for this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (kraft, simply chartreuse), Botanical Silhouettes stamp set, Mat Stack #4 die and my new Half & Half stamp set for the sentiment. The patterned paper is Crate Paper.

Thanks for looking!

Self-timer shot #2

Since I had success with my http://leighpenner.blogspot.com/2011/07/self-timer-shot-1.html, I decided to set up a self-timer shot of me reading to Sage on our front porch. I just set up the camera on the railing and after a few tries, we got the above photo.

And here's how I scrapbooked it, using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink Wonderful Words stamp (together), Beautiful Blooms dies, Mat Stack #1 die, buttons and twine. I also used Bazzill cardstock, Crate Paper patterned paper, October Afternoon letter stickers.

Here's a close up of the journaling:


Thanks for looking!

MIM #24 -- attempt #5

Here's my fifth attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, aqua mist, simply chartreuse) and Botanical Silhouettes & Text Style I stamp sets.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #24 -- attempt #4

Here's my fourth attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, berry sorbet), the Botanical Silhouettes stamp set and Mat Stack #4. The patterned paper is Crate Paper.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #24 -- attempt #3

Here's my third attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, kraft), Mehndi Medallion, Sweet Love & Mat Stack #1 (sentiment) stamp sets and Mat Stack #5 & #1 dies.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #24 -- attempt #2

Here's my second attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, simply chartreuse), the Botanical Silhouettes stamp set, Mat Stack #5 die & twine.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #24 -- attempt #1

Here's my first attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Dry Brushing.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, harvest gold, aqua mist and berry sorbet) and Daydreamer & Beautiful Blessings stamp sets.

Thanks for looking!

Scrapping Everyday Miracles Challenge #4

I wanted to share with you the layout I made for Challenge #4 at Scrapping Everyday Miracles.
Lisa challenged us to created a layout about a song that has touched you recently. The scrap twist was to include some fabric on your layout.

There are two sponsors for this week's challenge:

Paper Loves Glue Shoppe, who sent me some beautiful seam binding to use.

And Free Pretty Things sent us free digital images to print out and use on our layouts.

Here's the layout I made for the challenge:


I chose the song Everything by Tim Hughes. It's fabulous. I wrote out the words in my notebook and took a picture of it. I used My Mind's Eye patterned paper & brads, October Afternoon letter stickers & Papertrey Ink cardstock, stamp (from Happy Trails) & dies (Mat Stack #1 & #5, Beautiful Blooms II). For the fabric, I made die cut one of the flowers with a scrap of quilting fabric.

I made two other layouts using the seam binding and digital images:


On this one, I used Fancy Pants patterned paper, Bo Bunny chipboard letters, Papertrey Ink stamps (from Beautiful Blessings) and My Mind's Eye twine and lock.


I couldn't believe how perfectly this digital image matched my photo! I also used My Mind's Eye patterned paper & embellishment, Lily Bee patterned paper (blue floral) and October Afternoon (orange) and Webster's Pages (blue) letter stickers.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #23-- attempt #6

Here's one last layout that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Pockets with Edger Dies.

I was reorganizing my photos this afternoon and came across this gem that I wanted to scrapbook. I decided to make it for my "Thankfulness album".


I used PTI cardstock (kraft, aqua mist, harvest gold & vintage cream), Fillable Frames #10 die (to create the pocket) & Boy Basics: Game On stamp. The patterned paper is October Afternoon and Crate Paper. The red letter stickers are Webster's Pages and the green chipboard letters are American Crafts.

I tucked my journaling in the side pocket. I had left the pocket blank at first but then I decided to add the Game On stamp. I thought it was perfect, because at first glance, it seems fitting for a taekwondo tournament. But in reality, the reason I added it is because I feel that being loving & encouraging is the "best game" you can bring, because when you act this way, everybody wins.


Thanks for looking!

MIM #23-- attempt #5

Here's another layout that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Pockets with Edger Dies.

I used my Fillable Frame #10 die repeatedly across the top of my large pocket in which I tucked the kids' festival certificates.


I used PTI cardstock (vintage cream), Fillable Frames #10 die & Beautiful Blooms II die. The patterned paper, embellishments & brads are all My Mind's Eye.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #23-- attempt #4

Here's a layout that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Pockets with Edger Dies, as well this sketch from the My Mind's Eye blog.


I used PTI cardstock (white), sentiment stamp from Signature Sentiments, Boy Basics: Game On stamps, Fillable Frames #9 die, Fillable Frames #10 die & Simple Circles die. The patterned paper, embellishments & brads are all My Mind's Eye. The alphabet stickers are Lily Bee and the chipboard letters are Pink Paislee.

I tucked the journaling in the chevron striped pocket that I used the Mat Stack #10 die on.


And here's another close-up:


Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

We've spent the first two weeks of summer vacation at the beach, where the kids have been taking swimming lessons. For my Five for Friday today, I thought I'd share my five favourite photos taken there, yesterday...

Austin, diving into the lake off of the dock:


Sage, playing in the water on her boogie board:


Jonah, indulging me with a pose:


All three on the dock:


And again, in front of the brightly painted beach shack:


Thanks for looking!

Capturing Everyday Miracles

I just posted my first Capturing Everyday Miracles post at Scrapping Everyday Miracles and wanted to share the the layout I made here, too.

I also used this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Pockets wtih Edger Dies.


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (kraft and stamper's select white), Mat Stack #5 & Tag Sale #3 die and twine. I also used my Quickutz Classic alphabet dies & My Mind's Eye patterned paper.

I don't think I often get symbolic or artsy with my layouts, but for some reason, I did with this one.... and it was fun! I layered some kraft letters over the kraft cardstock, because I think that sometimes little reminders of God's love are hard to see (or easy to miss) if we're not looking for them. I stitched the patterned paper squares like a quilt because I think that our faith is made up of smaller elements like this, collected together.

Here are a few close-up shots:


And one with the tag pulled out of the pocket:


Thanks for looking!